Steven Universe: Retaliation
by PH4NT0M17
Summary: The Boom ended with a threat of war and the deaths of two Diamonds. In The Crystal Gems heads peace has been achieved. But in Yellow Diamonds head, that's exactly what the Crystal Gems deserve. A Retaliation, if you will. I do not own Steven Universe except for the OC's. I do not own Cartoon Network nor any tv show's they own. Or any Character's that Cartoon Network owns!
1. Favor Returned

**Three years ago, Steven Universe: The Boom was released. Three years later, The Retaliation begins.**

The ocean waves climbed over eachother, shielding the ground below them from the harsh, bright sunlight. Beach City. The town saved so many times by the Crystal Gems. It had been months since the last gem attack. Where Green Diamond was killed. A portal opened on the beach, sending a long column of blue energy into the air. Two figures walked out, and a third followed. People on the beach began to turn and run, causing a commotion that attracted the attention of a hooded figure.

"Called it."

The three figures that walked out, the shortest one wore a red cloak, which was hooded. The buffest one wore a yellow breastplate. And the one behind them was the tallest. A yellow figure that seemed to loom over them. Yellow Diamond.

"Crystal Gems!" She said, her voice amplified by unknown means.

"Get out here. And bring Blue with you."

And just like that, they did. Garnet stood dead center, gauntlets smoking from the recent materialization. To her left, stood Amethyst, her whips cracking as they landed on the ground. And to her right, Pearl. Her spear aimed at the tall Diamond. Behind them Steven stood, his shield ready to go. Lapis flew in from overhead and landed with Topaz. And the hooded figure landed, infront of them all.

The hood was removed, and Zircon smirked. "My Diamond" He said. "What brings you to our fine planet. After all, weren't you warned?"

"I'll only speak to Blue."

"I'm sorry, she's not available right now. Check back next time." Zircon spat out as he summoned his axe.

Yellow Diamond scoffed, and waved her hand at the Crystal Gems. And suddenly, behind the Gems stood hundreds of troops.

"Again. I'll only speak to Blue."

Zircon growled, then reluctantly sighed. He de-materialized his weapon and walked to Lapis. And with that sudden burst of blue light, stood Blue Diamond.

"You were." Blue said.

Yellow's eyes widened, and she took a step back. "What?"

"As I was saying. I warned you, come to this planet and war will be declared. Look where you are."

Yellow growled. "If you declare this war, you will be the ones to fall."

"Perhaps. But then again. You made me who I am in a way."

"Fine then. Have it your way." Yellow raised her arm, and her fingers extended. A lightning bold of gold shot down on her hand, and a sword materialized.

She pointed the blade towards Blue Diamond, and shouted. "Attack!"

The Crystal Gems began their fight. Pearl jumped over Steven, using his shield as a trampoline and jumping in a gathering of soldiers, electricity surged and dissipated. Then a small explosion shot yellow soldiers away. Garnet turned and charged a line of soldiers, poofing them as she did. Amethyst whipped a group of soldiers and shot them towards Topaz who sliced them in half swiftly. The red cloaked figure sighed and raised his hands. The armored brute raised his arms and he grabbed the cloaked figure, swung him around and they fused.

What emerged was an orange gem about the same height as Yellow Diamond. In one hand he held a battle axe, and in the other a staff with a red diamond infused in the wood. The weapons fused, and the red diamond expanded, creating the blade of the new battle axe.

Blue Diamond simply smirked, and the gauntlets formed. Blue charged the fused gem first, and brought one gauntlet up towards the fusions jaw. The fusion backed up and threw his foot up, connecting with Blue's jaw, launching her in the air. Yellow smirked and threw her sword down at the falling Blue Diamond, who parried with her right gauntlet. She landed flat on her back and rolled out the way of a swinging axe that dug deep into the sandy beach. Blue dug her gauntlets into the ground and threw herself up feet first at the Fusion, throwing him into the ocean infront a trail of blood.

She stood up and ducked under a yellow blade, she then brought her right gauntlet up at Yellow Diamonds left arm, and was caught. Yellow smirked and threw Blue down to the ground. "Agh!". Yellow brought down her sword and was blocked by the gauntlet.

Pearl threw her spear into a line of foes, knocking three of them down. She materialized another spear and pulled the one out of the soldiers bodies. She twirled and began to down foes left and right.

Topaz swung his katana left, and chucked a soldiers head away. He spun around and threw his foot at another soldiers throat, making them stumble and gasp for air. Topaz shoved the sword into the soldiers chest and threw them in the air. "Bring it on!"

Amethyst ran to Garnet, and jumped at her. Garnet caught Amethyst and they fused into Sugilite. She pulled her flail and swung it across the army. Most of them breaking and being thrown into eachother. As they piled up, Sugilite cracked the flail around and swung it down, causing a large white smoke to rise under her flail. "Ha! It's great to be back!" She shouted as she went for another swing.

Steven held his own, his shield acting as a boomerang, poofing soldiers as they fell. He caught his shield and bashed the soldier behind him. "There's too many!" Steven exclaimed.

Blue Diamond threw Yellow into the sand wall. "Enough of these games!" She shouted. Her eyes began to glow blue, and columns of sand began to rise. These columns bashed the groups of soldiers attacking the Crystal Gems, and they wrapped around Yellow Diamond.

Yellow began to scream in pain as the columns of sand began to weigh down on her chest, dragging her down to the ground. Blue walked to the grounded Yellow, and raised her gauntlet. "This ends now!" She threw her gauntlet down, only to be tackled into the wall by the fusion.

"My Diamond, might I suggest we retreat?" He said as he helped Yellow out of the sand.

"No!" She said as she turned her head only to be met by a blade behind a gauntlet, she flew back into the water screaming with yellow blood trailing. The fusion attempted to swing the axe at Blue Diamond but was kicked into the sand.

Yellow tackled Blue away, throwing her into the Crystal Gems, and forcing them to unfuse.

"Agh!" Zircon grunted as he rolled in the dirt. Lapis landed on Zircon, and stood up from the sand.

The Fusion stood and formed a portal. "My Diamond, Tactical Retreat is suggested."

Yellow grunted and stared at the gems, her left eye gone and bleeding. "You will pay. All of you! And your pitiful planet!" She shouted.

The Fusion tossed Yellow in the portal, and growled at the Crystal Gems before following.

The portal closed and the Gems gathered.

"Zircon, what does this mean for us?" Steven asked.

Pearl turned her head to Zircon, who dusted himself off and looked back at the group.

"War."

 **A war has begun. How will the Crystal Gems retaliate? Find out on the new sequel to The Boom. Been a while guys hasn't it? Hope you enjoy this sequel, as I try to keep it going.**


	2. Project Dark

**Last time on Steven Universe: Retaliation. Yellow Diamond invaded Earth, and tried to attack the Crystal Gems. A new unknown fusion came in the mix and fought alongside Yellow Diamond. The attack ended in failure and forced the Diamond to retreat. How will the Crystal Gems prepare for the oncoming war? Who will fight and who will run? Find out now.**

The Gems sat at the dinner table, discussing what to do about the recent attack. "I propose we get the human military involved, train them and improve their weapons to help us." Topaz threw out.

"No, they'd help us but what about after? They have wars of their own to worry about." Zircon said.

"Why don't we-" Steven begun but was cut off by Garnet.

"We have to provide a full frontal assault! Albeit I'm not the tactician here, but if we hit them all with our maximum force, we'll be sure to win!"

"They have anti-fusion tech. They tested prototypes back when I was being experimented on." Zircon shot out.

Garnet sat back down and cursed under her breath, and looked over to Amethyst who hopped up.

"Why don't we just leave? Not like these people care about us."

Pearl threw her fist at the table and snapped at Amethyst "Because we swore to defend them! From any harm! It's our duty as we live on their planet!"

Pearl sat back down and put her head in her hands.

"Guys.." Steven mumbled as the arguing began to get louder and louder.

"Guys..." Steven repeated, his hands squeezed his head to stop the noise, then he snapped. "Everyone shut up!"

And like that, he had everyone's attention.

"Why don't we find a way to heal the corrupted gems we have. Then convince them to help us." Steven explained, panting from the recent shout.

Murmurs spread around the table, and Zircon stopped in his tracks. "Y'know, that could work. We come with strength in numbers. They may have a technological advantage, but they may not have a manpower advantage. But how do you propose we do this Stevo?"

"Well... Let me show you.." He mumbled as he got up and walked to the door. A pink streak lined it and it opened, revealing a red figure sitting on the couch asleep.

"This is one of the corrupted gems that I took from the room downstairs. Trial and error led to this. Apatite. That's his name." Steven explained.

"Speaking of Apatite, I've got one right now." Amethyst said, turning around and marching to the kitchen.

"Care to elaborate, Steven?" Pearl asked in wonder, if Rose couldn't heal the corrupted, then how can Steven?

"Well, I tried the spit so many times and after each failure, I broke. I found that the healing tears and spit mixed can cure corruption. I don't know the science behind it, but... That's what happened."

"Interesting." Zircon murmured. He walked to the sleeping gem, and he flipped the couch. The red gem jumped up and landed, he wore a scholars robe, his right hand had a gold glove that only wrapped around his middle fingers.

"Who are you? Steven, what's going on?!" Apatite said. The gem on his right shoulder began to glow as he pulled out a Morning-star.

"Calm down Apatite. These are my friends." Steven explained.

Apatite took a few breaths, then dematerialized the morning-star.

"Who did you serve with?" Zircon asked.

"What?"

"The Gems or did you side with Homeworld?" He asked again.

"I was a Homeworld agent, sent from Red Diamond's council." He said.

Pearls eyes shot open, and she turned to Garnet.

"Did he just say, Red Diamond?" Garnet whispered.

"He just did."

"Wait, Red Diamond?" Zircon spit out. "You're telling me, there's more Diamonds other than Green, White, Blue, Yellow, and Pink?"

"Y-Yes. D-Didn't you know?" Apatite asked, confused as to why they didn't know about Red Diamond.

"And these Diamonds, do they have as much control as the Great Diamond Authority?"

"No, they tend to remain under the shadows. Hidden from the peering eyes of Homeworld." He replied.

"So that means..."

"They were right.." Pearl added.

Zircon turned around and left the room, Pearl following close behind. "Garnet... Handle it 'til I get back." Zircon asked, Garnet nodded and she walked in the room.

"You've been saved. By the Crystal Gems." Garnet announced.

Zircon walked out the house, and stood on the deck. He placed his hands on the railing and stared at the sand below. "So all I've fought for... For nothing?" He pondered.

"No, not for nothing. For us." Pearl said, sitting on the railing next to him. "You have to understand, there was no way for us to know this."

"If we did, we could have shut down the entire operation like that. The public would have turned against Peridot, and this entire war would have never happened!" Zircon shouted shattering the railing beneath his clenched fist.

Pearl put her hand on Zircons cheek and turned his head to look at her.

"If the war never happened, things would be better yes. But we would have never met. I would still be under orders from my diamond." Pearl explained. "I'm not happy the war happened, but I am happy that I met you because of it."

Zircon put his hands on her thighs and pulled her in. His lips met hers and she wrapped her arms around his neck. They pulled away, and they leaned against eachother for a moment. "I wish this fighting would just stop. All the problems would just, go away." Pearl said, her head leaned against Zircons chest.

"I do too." Zircon said softly, placing his lips on Pearls forehead. "I don't know what I would do without you."

"I love you." Pearl said, looking up at Zircon and smiling.

"I love you too." Zircon said, he lifted her up and embraced her.

Pearl began to giggle "Zircon, what am I going to do with you." She said as she pulled away smiling.

"Only the future can tell." Zircon said with a smile.

The door opened, and Zircon turned his head.

"You may want to hear this.." Steven said.

"There is an entire league of Diamonds. Reds, Blues, Golds, Oranges. Any color you can think of. All of this to test a lethal weapon." Apatite explained.

"What kind of weapon?" Lapis asked.

"Okay, this is how it would work. A diamond of each color would Fuse. Something rare and untold about the Diamonds, I know, but all together they would create Black Diamond. This Diamond has the power to Corrupt, shatter with a snap of her fingers, even create gems. There was a rumor, at the end of the war. That the Corruption Light wasn't the Diamond Authority. But Black Diamond herself."

"So... If I'm adding this up correctly. During the war, the Diamonds created a weapon. No rather, fused a weapon, that can create and destroy Gems?" Topaz asked.

"That's the basic. The project was called Project Dark. But it was mostly known as-"

"Project Matter." Zircon cut in.

He received a few looks, of shock, of confusion, and surprise.

"Well. Yes." Apatite said.

"What was the result of the Project?" Steven asked.

"Now that's where things get good. From what I heard before I was corrupted, the project was scrapped. Too many casualties. But I do have to ask, Zircon." Apatite continued. "How do you know about the project?"

"It's how I came into existence. This Project took a dead gem, and a live gem and put them together. I was experiment Z-329-H. It was to form the perfect weapon. And out of that they sent me into infantry, and here I am." Zircon explained. "The experiment killed many of my brethren."

Pearl sighed and leaned against Zircons shoulder.

"So, how do we beat an unbeatable weapon." Lapis mumbled as she leaned against the wall.

"The only way you can. Fight fire with fire." Apatite stated. "Only a diamond can truly destroy another diamond."

"Okay. This will need to be thought over. All of our options are laid before us. And we need to decide." Garnet demanded. "We need to decide by the end of today."

Everyone agreed, and went their separate ways. Apatite stood, but was stopped by Zircon's hand on his shoulder.

"Walk with me." Zircon said, and just like that, they were outside.

"How did you get here, and how did you get corrupted." Zircon questioned.

"Like I said, I was sent by Red Diamond. My task was to gather test subjects. And I got attacked. By a potential test subject." Apatite told Zircon.

"Sounds like they're aiming to cure corruption too. Are you with us?" Zircon turned to the red gem.

"Well, you cured me. How could I repay you other than helping the people that didn't abandon me."

"M'kay." Zircon mumbled.

Zircon motioned his head towards the temple, and Apatite walked in. Steven walked out past him, and met up with Zircon.

"So what do you think?" Steven asked.

"I think that he's full of it. I don't trust him for a second, but we have to. He's the only intel we have." Zircon sighed.

"So how are we going to find Diamonds to join us." Steven pondered.

"I don't know man." Zircon said as he looked up at the sky. "Sometimes... I wish that the Diamonds never even had the thought, to do any of this. Let alone let Peridot become president of Homeworld. But I like to think. There are other gems on Homeworld, who agree with our motives and feel oppressed. I don't doubt we can get them to turn to our side and force our way to victory."

"We got this Z." Steven said as he patted Zircons back and walked back in the house.

"I sure hope so."

 **So, it looks like the Crystal Gems have more on their hands than they bargained for. Can they succeed in this mission? Or will they falter? Find out on the next chapter of Steven Universe: Retaliation! Please leave a review, favorite, and follow for more!**


	3. A Betrayal

**So last time we were here, we learned that there are more diamonds than just Yellow. It seems that they were being mass produced and are in usage. How will the Crystal Gems utilize this against their war? How will they win this war? Find out on Steven Universe: Retaliation.**

Zircon stood outside the Gem Temple leaning against the stone hand as he looked up into the stars. "So.. This is how it ends, huh. With Green, and White dead we thought this war would end. Or even just fall apart. But this... How are we supposed to fix this? Huh?" He spoke to himself. He let his head drop and chuckled. "But of course. You never listen, after all, I'm just your experiment."

He turned from a stone and walked away. And on the stone read: Ruby and Diamond.

He walked up the wooden stairs and entered the house, the door creaking loudly in the quiet night. Lapis sat on the couch, her head tilted back and her mouth agape as she snored loudly. And below her bent over a table was Amethyst. Topaz and Steven were asleep infront of the video game console, their hands still gripping the controllers.

Suddenly his gem began to glow and he grasped it with a painful groan. He gritted his teeth, and limped to his room. He turned his head over his shoulder, opened the door, and walked in.

The door shut, and a small AI robot flew down next to him and hovered. "Good afternoon, Zircon. I trust you have had a good time outside?" It said.

"If you say so. Shut down for the night." He ordered as the AI seemed to have nodded, then turned and floated away.

Zircon walked to his bed and sat down. He let his face fall into his hands and groaned. "Why me... Why did I have to be the one to be tested on.." He questioned with himself. He fell back into the bed and stared at the ceiling. He let his head drop to the otherside of the bed and saw Pearl. She spun around and continued her dance, and Zircon had just noticed her.

Zircon rolled over and watched, a memory of the past. The good ol' days had passed and now was a time of war and a time for action.

He stood up, and left his room again. He walked past the sleeping gems and walked right past Garnet who reached her arm out and stopped him. "So, where are you going?" She asked.

"Out, Garnet." He said as he shook her arm off and walked out the door, quietly closing it as not to wake Steven or the others. He hopped over the fence and landed on the sand below and crossed his legs. He let his head fall into his arms again, and he stared at the stone he had just left. Tears had started to stream down his cheek and he let out a grunt. He began to cry silently and he shook. He struggled to keep the tears in, but he couldn't. Not anymore. "Why didn't you just help me?! Huh?! Why didn't you save me from all the pain?!" He started to scream, he slammed his fist into the sand causing the sand itself to turn solid.

"You were supposed to protect me! And you let me become this! You let this pain happen! You let me go through it all! And you watched!" He continued to scream with tears dripping to the ground, staining the sand.

Garnet walked outside and looked down, she turned as everyone began to peek out and she threw her hand up to stop them from coming out. "Let him. He needs to vent." She whispered.

Hours would have passed before the sad moaning ended, more hours would have passed before he walked back inside, and saw everyone staring. "I hope I didn't wake any of you." He said. His eyes drooping as the sunlight bled through the windows.

Pearl walked to him and wrapped her arms around him. He hugged her tightly, and sucked his lips in. Steven walked to Zircon and tapped his shoulder, "Take a rest Z, I'll handle the group for now. You need it man."

"I'll stay with him." Pearl said, helping him into his room where he was seen hitting the bed and passing out. Pearl rubbed his back and the door shut. "Okay guys. So, like Zircon said a few days ago. We need to find a way to get more information on these Diamonds. We do have a way to infiltrate Homeworld, right?" Steven started.

Lapis shrugged, and Apatite perked up. "Actually, I did leave a ship somewhere near here. In the Strawberry Fields, I had a red transport ship."

"Good, can you get it?" Steven asked, and Apatite cowered a little. "Apatite..."

"I may or may not have, uh, crashed it?" He shrugged.

Steven sighed and let his head drop. "Where?"

"Like I said, the Strawberry Fields." Apatite answered. "We can go there now, but it'll be a while before it's repaired. A day or so if I work on it without a break."

"Well, let's go. Lapis, can you stay back and make sure nothing happens while we're gone?" Steven asked, followed by a nod from Lapis.

Steven walked on the warp pad, followed by Apatite, Amethyst, and Garnet. The white beam of light absorbed them, and then they disappeared.

Zircon sat on the bed, his face buried in the pillow as it dried up the tears. Pearl still sat there, rubbing his back and consoling him. He had never snapped emotionally before. Not like this.

"I'm sorry to have to put you guys through this. I shouldn't be having this problem." Zircon said through the pillow. Pearl patted his back and began, "Believe me, I understand the pain. When you lose something that you never had, but you thought you had," Pearl sympathized, "It was the same way for me when... It happened."

Zircon nodded slowly, and turned on his back, wiping the tears away with his hand. "And that's when this all began."

Both of their heads turned to the banging outside of the door, Pearl turned to Zircon, "I'll be back." She said as she stood up and opened the door, only to be launched into the floating orb. Zircon stood up but fell down as soon as he tried.

He grunted when he caught himself and shot his head up towards Pearl, who was getting up and summoning her spear. Zircon summoned his Axe and bolted out the room next to Pearl, only to see Lapis, who was being suspended in the air by a katana that was driven through her stomach.

She groaned and whimpered in pain, as she struggled to keep herself from sliding down the katana. "Lapis!" Zircon shouted as suddenly he was struck down through the floor.

When Zircon landed on the sand below, he caught glimpse of Pearl tossing her spear at someone, and then being launched up through the roof. Zircon managed to get up, and spawned his Axe again. He jumped back up only to see Topaz holding his katana, the blade ready to strike Lapis down. As Topaz brought the blade down, a column of sand burst through the floor and sent him through the roof and into the sky.

"Lapis!" Zircon shouted as he ran towards his sister. He pulled the katana out of her stomach and caught her body which was dripping blood on the floor. "Stop him. Brother." Lapis asked, and Zircon nodded. "Retreat into your gem. Come out when you're ready." He said as Lapis poofed.

Zircon stood up, and a column of sand appeared under his feet and launched him up in the sky. And soon he had been met with the blade of Topaz' katana. Zircon took a step back and let the katana dig into the sand column below his feet. The blue axe was raised in the air, and was thrown down at Topaz, only to be blocked away. Topaz twisted his body, letting his left leg slam against Zircons face, throwing him off the column and allowing him to descend.

Topaz soon jumped down, and began a nosedive with his katana blade aiming towards Zircon. Zircon grabbed the blade of the katana, and proceeded to swing Topaz down towards the building. With a crash of the roof and with wood splintering, Topaz took half of the Gem Temple with him. And Zircon followed, slamming into the stone Gem Portal with a loud grunt and thump.

Pearl ran out with a limp, and helped Zircon up. "You alright?" Pearl asked as Zircon stood up.

"Yeah I'm good." He pulled two War Axes out of his gem, and slammed them together, creating a dual-headed axe. Pearl did the same except she carried her spears with both hands. "Why is he doing this?" Pearl asked.

"I don't know but we're about to find out." Zircon said as Topaz jumped out with two katanas.

Topaz growled, switching the blades around to where they faced away from his thumbs. He dashed forward towards Pearl and Zircon swinging his katanas wildly.

Pearl spun her right spear around, creating a shield-like force that the katanas bounced off of. Zircon jumped over Pearl and threw his weapon down at Topaz who attempted to block but was instead greeted by the loud crash of his katana blade snapping. Topaz hit the floor and was weighed down by Zircon's foot. "Explain yourself, now!" Zircon demanded.

Topaz only grunted, as he reached down and pulled out a trigger. "Hail Yellow Diamond" He simply said as Zircon jumped over Pearl, and shielded her from the explosion which blew the house apart. "You okay?" Zircon managed to spit through the smoke. "Yeah. Are you?" Pearl asked, and as the smoke cleared, a large chunk of wood had impaled Zircon through the chest.

Pearl covered her mouth as Zircon hit his side on the floor. "Again?" He managed to let out before Pearl held his face close to hers. "No, no, no, no." She repeated to herself as a loud engine approached. Soon enough, footsteps came to the door and the door swung open revealing Steven, Garnet, Amethyst, and Apatite. "What happened?" Steven exclaimed.

"Zircon!" Garnet shouted as she approached Pearl and the grunting Zircon.

"I'll be fine, I'll be back soon. I promise." He managed to blurt out before looking at Lapis' gem. "Worry about her, she took a hard hit." And with that, Zircon poofed, leaving behind a single blue gem, and a pool of blood.

Amethyst nodded, and turned with Apatite who had managed to repair the ship enough to land it at the base.

Pearl continued to rock back and forth, staring at her hands which were stained with blood. She looked at Lapis' gem, and noticed that it began to flicker and suddenly, in a burst of light Lapis returned. She branded a midnight blue top, and a midnight blue blouse with a blue bow tied behind her. She landed on her knees with a hard thump, and grunted.

"Ouch." She said as she turned and saw the blood bath. "What... happened? Where's Zircon?" She asked and she saw his gem laying on the floor infront of Pearl.

After explaining that Topaz had seemed to have pledged his allegiance to Yellow Diamond, everyone acted accordingly. They searched for Topaz's gem, which was found under the rubble of the building, and bubbled it. Amethyst and Steven transported the ship to a nearby garage, which thankfully the owner never asked questions. Garnet and Lapis helped comfort Pearl with what just happened.

After a few hours, Pearl was sitting in the cave that was below the temple. The same cave Amazonite was fused. Zircon's gem rested on her lap, and she watched it. She had hoped that he would have been back by now, but this is taking an awfully long time. She began to doze off, so much for gems not needing rest. And as she did, Zircons gem began to glow. She let it float in the air, and it began to take shape.

Zircon hit the ground, landing on his black military boots, which had black cargo jeans tucked in. He stood up, and adjusted the black longsleeve shirt he had on. He cracked his neck, and turned around to look at Pearl. "How long was I out?" He asked.

"A few hours," Pearl said as she ran and hugged him, "I missed you way too much."

Zircon returned the hug and kissed her forehead. "As did I. Any news on Topaz? Or Apatite?"

"Topaz is bubbled, and they found the ship and it's being repaired." Pearl said as they began to walk out the cave and up to the temple, which was torn apart.

Zircon nodded, as he walked in to find everyone, except for Apatite and Amethyst, sitting in the living room discussing what to do next.

"When the ship is repaired, we need to take it to homeworld and start attacking the embassies." Lapis brought up, Garnet countered it stating that the security there would get them all shattered.

"Why don't we take the gems that are corrupted, and fix them?" Zircon said as he rested his hands on Lapis and Steven's shoulders. "We know Steven can, let's give him time, and hopefully we can coerce the corrupted to join us, and fight homeworld. We'll be stronger than we used to be."

"Yeah, we could do that, but you have any idea how long that would take? It would take weeks, if not months? That's plenty of time for the Diamonds to attack us." Garnet said.

"Potentially, but we know they wont, we decimated them the last time they tried."

"We could try, we can start in the morning," Steven said "I need to get sleep."

Everyone nodded their heads in agreement, as everyone went their separate ways. Pearl pulled Zircon back, and with a smirk on her face she jumped on him and embraced him. She pulled back a bit and tapped Zircon's nose, "We need some private time soon." She flirted, and Zircon smiled, and they kissed once more.

 **Well, thats the end of that. Will Steven be able to un-corrupt the corrupted? Or will he fail? Find out next time on Steven Universe: Retaliation!**


	4. Kindergarten

**Last time on Steven Universe Retaliation, Topaz had betrayed the Crystal Gems who admitted his allegiance to Yellow Diamond. Later Zircon was poofed, and was reformed. Will they go through with curing the Corrupted Gems? Find out now! Also I want to thank a buddy of mine for helping me with this chapter!**

Steven, Zircon, Pearl, Lapis, and Apatite warped to an area covered by snow. Steven turned to look at the Wailing Stone behind the warp pad. As Steven stepped off of the portal and into the deep snow he asked, "Where are we?" "Not sure, we haven't used this portal in centuries." Pearl responded. Zircon stepped down and knelt. "The air tastes familiar though, I'm not sure why," he stated as he stood. "We need to remain vigilant."

Everyone nodded in agreement as they began their trek. Not too long after, Steven suddenly stopped. "Guys... did you feel that?"

The others turned to him in confusion as the ground suddenly began to shake, followed by the loud roaring of machinery. "Where is that sound coming from?" Apatite shouted at the top of his lungs.

"There!" Lapis exclaimed, pointing north to where the trees were shaking. They started to hesitantly move towards the source of the noise, to the point where it became loud enough that Steven had to cover his ears. "Whatever it is, it's over this hill," Zircon said, struggling to be heard over the noise while materializing his weapon. When they finally crossed the mound, they paused in shock.

Before them were some large, disabled injectors; all but one, which was currently drilling into the side of the cliff as they paused in their approach. "A kindergarten!" Steven said, surprised, as he turned to the other gems who seemed equally as shocked. Zircon stepped back, and grabbed his head. "My kindergarten..." he mumbled as he dropped to his knees and started about. At that moment, the single functioning injector exploded. The green smoke cleared as the debris rained down.

The gems all ran towards the source after the initial explosion, with Zircon lagging behind a little. When they reached it, they saw a green figure curled into a fetal position on the ground. "Hey! Are you okay?" Steven asked as he continued to come closer. The figure, in one swift motion, kicked Steven away and began to shout. "Stay away from me!" She shouted. Her voice echoed through the canyon. Steven noticed the gem on her right wrist as she summoned a green shield that bore spikes around the edge. "Don't hurt me!"

Zircon brushed past Steven, using his hand to push him back a bit. "We're not here to hurt you," Zircon said, gesturing in surrender. "If we had wanted to, we would have done so already."

The green gem's left hand began to glow, and a blast shot out of her hand and hit Zircon square in the chest and forced him back several meters until he hit a wall. "Woah!" Steven jumped back, startled, as Lapis ran up to Zircon. "You okay?"

"Yeah," he assured as he stood up. He noticed the others had since drawn their own weapons, and approached the green gem once more. "I am Ziron 3045 Delta Sierra. I was grown in this kindergarten, just as you were." He explained, the green gem backing away just a bit. "How did you know I was grown here?" She asked once she had recovered enough from surprise.

"Your gem is still shining as though it was just created. When did you come out of your exit hole?" Zircon asked, as the green gem continued to keep her shield up as if to defend herself.

"I… I don't know… It was recent. I'm Jade… I know that much." She finally said, introducing herself. "Well, you're definitely not an Era 2 gem." Zircon thought to himself, just as Steven ran by to introduce himself. "Hi I'm Steven!" Despite being 18 years old, his childish smile still flashed his white teeth at Jade.

Jade's voice cracked slightly. "H-Hi... Where am I?" She asked.

"You're on Earth." Zircon answered, he looked for the classic diamond color that would represent which diamond she served, but found none, only a green diamond in its place.

Zircon nodded to himself, and turned to meet with the group. "Steven, can you take her back to the Gem Temple. I need to discuss something with the others." He asked for a favor. Steven nodded, and ran to Jade. He led her to the warp pad, and as soon as the whoosh of the pad dissipated. Zircon began.

"She's a new gem. A new generation it seems." Zircon explained.

"So, like us? But not like us?" Pearl asked, and Apatite spoke "Well, yes. Precisely. You see, she is part of an experimental line of gems, that have both their Diamond's power, as well as your weapon manifesting power. I heard my diamond call them Era 3. The difference between these gems is that Era 1 gems have the power to manifest weapons from their gems. Era 2 gems lack a lot of the powers that Era 1 gems held. And these Era 3 gems, well.. They're a mix of Era 1 and Era 2. But with a power from their Diamond." He explained in detail.

"But if that's the case, why is there another Kindergarten on Earth? Didn't we shut them all down?" Lapis asked.

"Apparently not. Either that, or they just built it." Zircon mentioned, "Either way, we have to find out if there are any others. Because I'm going to be livid, if the Diamonds have been sending gems here, to set up kindergartens. We need to find out how, and stop it. Unless, Apatite can give us the answer."

"They send only the kindergartens. As far as I know this is the second one sent here. After the Beta Kindergarten and the Prime Kindergarten, that is. They launch them from Homeworld to planets. Instead of the old way of actually bringing them and overseeing the kindergarten. Now they have a new technology they've created, one where they can control the kindergartens movements through space remotely."

Pearl took a step back, and began to shake. "Are we that far behind? We're so technologically advanced but yet so technologically under them!" Her voice began to quiver, as she put her hand over her mouth and began to cry. Tears rolled down her cheek, and over her knuckles. Zircon wrapped his arms around her in a hug, and let her cry into his shoulder.

"Hey, don't worry. We'll be fine." Zircon assured her. Rubbing her back as she sniffled. "Apatite, do you know how we can stop them?" Lapis asked. Apatite nodded, and knelt down and began to draw in the snow.

"Okay, every kindergarten injector has a transmitter in the top of the nose. The transmitter is what allows it to be controlled remotely, but it also houses the mainframe to keep the kindergarten safe on exiting the atmosphere and entering said atmosphere. But, with Lapis Lazuli's Hydrokinesis, you could fry the transmitter. This would shut down the protective layer of the injector, and it would burn up in re-entry." He explained. The drawing, despite looking childish, detailed where the transmitter was on the nose of the injector. And it detailed where Lapis would have to enter said injector, and fry the transmitter.

Lapis nodded. "What do we do with her though?" Apatite asked, Zircon looked down at Apatite. "We take her in with us. She becomes a Crystal Gem." He stated. It was obvious that Jade would be the next best addition to the Crystal Gems, with a little bit of training with her powers, and a little knowledge of Homeworlds battle plans, she could be the next warrior they need. Pearl pulled her head out from Zircons shoulder, and looked up at him.

Everyone nodded, and they began their travel back to the warp pad. When they got back to the temple, Steven was showing Jade around the house. "This is where we eat, and this is where we watch TV." Steven pointed out the kitchen and living room, Zircon smiling.

"Jade," Zircon called out, catching Jade's attention as her green hair swooshed over her green eyes, "We all need to talk, about what we are going to do with you."

The suspense filled her, and her heart dropped. She's just met them. "W-What do you mean?" She stuttered, the fear in her voice stood out.

"We're talking about your induction into the Crystal Gems. But first, we must tell you the history. And the reasoning of why we're fighting Homeworld." Zircon explained.

She nodded, and he motioned for her to sit. The gems all sat on the couch, and Steven went to the kitchen to grab a drink. Zircon began the history. Telling about what started the Gem War over 5,700 years ago. Telling about Pink Diamond, and her shattering. Who Rose Quartz was and why she did what she did. He told her about the battles. She asked how Pink Diamond was shattered.

"Why, with Rose's sword." Zircon explained. And something clicked in Steven's head. Mom's sword cant shatter gems, it can only poof them Steven thought to himself, he looked at Zircon, and he started to connect the dots. He began to ask himself, just how Pink Diamond was shattered. Jade nodded, as she took in all the information. About everything Homeworld had done to Earth and to gemkind.

"So, are you in?" Zircon asked simply.

Jade thought to herself for a few seconds before blurting out, "Yes, I'll be a part of your movement."

Zircon smiled and stood. "Good to hear, welcome to the Crystal Gems." He welcomed her with open arms, but Steven couldn't get over the question. How did Pink Diamond get shattered?

Garnet, who had just gotten back from looking for Amethyst, missed everything. "What did I miss?" She asked.

"New Crystal Gem. Her name is Jade." Steven said, obviously not interested in whats going on. "Something on your mind?"

"Garnet," Steven began, "Can I ask you something, in private?"

Garnet nodded, and Steven led her outside. "Garnet... How did Pink Diamond get shattered?" He asked.

Garnet paused for a few moments, and answered quickly. "Your mother's sword."

"But how? How does a sword, that only poofs gems, shatter a Diamond?" Steven questioned, and this question stumped Garnet. "I... I actually do not know." She thought to herself, and turned to Steven, "After all this mess is sorted, we'll figure this out. Together." The fusion assured Steven, rubbing his head like he was 14 again. "First, let's welcome the new one. As your mother did to all Crystal Gems." Steven nodded, and with a smile they walked in. Garnet introduced herself, which seemed to calm Jade quickly.

 **So, we have a new Crystal Gem! Jade! We have also found out that the Diamonds are apparently creating a new generation of gems. What is this new generation for? When did this all start? Find out next time, on Steven Universe: Retaliation! Please favorite and follow to catch more updates, and don't forget to leave a review! I love hearing your thoughts!**


	5. Update

Hi everyone! Phantom17 here, I am sorry for the monthly updates and the lack of communication with you all. Lately I have been dealing with personal issues. I am not asking to be pitied nor am I asking for attention. My depression has decided to flare up again, but I have been combating it fairly well. I am also dealing with anxiety issues as well, but they're minor. College is starting soon, and I am both excited and dreading it. But, now for news related to Retaliation. I am still writing out details of the story, and perfecting it. Remember, all details mean something. Although I do have most of it written and planned out, I want to perfect it for you guys! This is my passion and hobby. I love every one of you all, and I hope that you will enjoy the next chapter of Retaliation, which is coming soon so keep an eye out ;)

Anyways guys, thanks for reading and I hope you guys keep tuned! See you on the next chapter,

Phantom17 Checking out!


	6. Memories Should Stay Memories

**Last time on SU:R. We saw a new introduction to the Crystal Gems; Jade. A powerful gem who hasn't realized her potential just yet. Steven began to question Pink Diamonds shattering and his mothers sword being the one to do so. What will Steven find out? How will Jade progress?**

The morning sun reflected off of the crashing waves, Lapis sitting outside in the shade of the rocks with a book in hand. Apatite was in the battle room, fighting against the A.I.s of Pearl, who was training him on weapon use.

"Good strike, Apatite. Remember, keep your back straight, and your arm bent at a 45 degree angle. Again." She commanded, Apatite striking the AI down, a smile stretching on Pearl's face.

Garnet was with Steven, walking to the Big Donut. Zircon was ontop of the lighthouse, watching the skies for any incoming attack. He was a good leader, knew how to treat his people. Amethyst was on the couch, a bag of Chaps laying on the floor with its contents sprawled around the carpet.

And there was Jade. So young, but full of purpose. She was curious about herself, where did she come from, who was she meant to be, what did she want? She suddenly remembered that in each Kindergarten, there was a data center. She got up from her position ontop of the house and dropped to the porch. She walked inside and went straight for the portal, only being halted by Zircon. "Headed out?"

"Oh! Uhm. Y-Yeah," She stuttered looking up at Zircon, taking in just how massive he was.

"Mind if I come with?" He asked, raising an eyebrow and stepping on the portal.

"Sure.." She muttered, stepping on as well and soon being covered by the light.

The snow was dropping hard on them when they arrived, Jade leading the way to the kindergarten. "Alpha Kindergarten.." Zircon mumbled to himself, "It has been a while."

"You know this place?" Jade turned, looking up at him in confusion as they walked.

"I was bor- Made here. Officially this is Facet 4. Making me Facet 4 Cut 9ZA," He walked to a tall exit hole, "And this. Is mine." He looked inside and sighed. Jade nodded, taking a few steps forward and walking into a large entrance, the darkness only illuminated by their gems. "So why are we here?" Zircon finally asked.

"I want to know more about myself, I guess. I know that all Kindergartens have control rooms, so why would this one not have one?" She shrugged, taking a few more steps before suddenly flinching at the sudden bust of bright pink light. They reached the control room. Zircon walked further in, the large console embedded into the cave wall, a keyboard sitting infront of it.

"This place is spotless!" Jade commented.

"Whoever was running it, just left then." Zircon said, typing into the console. Suddenly, a screen popped up. "Project Matter..." Zircon whispered, his eyes wide.

"What?" Jade tilted her head and walked next to him.

"That makes this entire Kindergarten an experimental one. Those monsters." He growled, clenching his fist.

"Alpha Kindergarten Facet 4, Project Matter. Log date 1 02 7," Read the video that suddenly popped up, showing a pink quartz scientist speaking. "Yellow Diamond has requested a package of 2 Zircon gems. Facet 4 Cut 9ZA and Facet 4 Cut 3ZT. We are to continue operations as normal here, the war effort is only making it harder to do this. Project Matter, so far, is a success. Pink Diamond has requested that we continue working on Project Matter experiment Jade-31-B, and thus far, this batch of Jades would be the strongest to come out as of yet." The scientist said with a smile, "Amethyst Facet 5 Cut-8XW, ending Log." And the video went black.

Zircon stared blankly, whilst Jade wore a face of shock and horror.

"So we're-"

"Experiments," Zircon cut her off, "Project Matter is the name."

"You knew?!" Jade said in shock, her voice quivering in confusion and anger.

"I wasn't sure. Not until now anyways."

Jade took a few steps back, her chest rising and dropping with speed. She wasn't sure how to process this. "What is our purpose then?!" She screamed, her hands glued to her head, pulling at her hair.

"There were a few theories among the other experiments. Workers that could ramp up production of the Gem Rule tenfold, Warriors that could combat a hundred Jaspers at once, even potential replacements for the Diamonds." He explained, turning and putting a hand on Jade's shoulder. "Look," He took a knee. "I know how stressful this is. I reacted in a similar fashion. But, I was lucky enough to be liberated by the Crystal Gems. There are times I wonder what would've happened had I not betrayed Homeworld, and I have no doubt that this planet would be gone and turned to dust."

She looked at Zircon, her breathing slowed. "You don't have to trust me, but I know that there's something special in you. We just haven't found it yet. It took me years to discover my power, and even now I haven't perfected it," He explained "If you would let me, I can guide you on the right path."

She wrapped her arms around him tightly, Zircon returning the hug. "Thank you."

"The training will be harsh. But, it will make your concentration on your power great. There will be many trials and errors, but that's the path to discovering yourself."

Jade nodded as Zircon stood up and returned to the console. "There's bound to be a massive data bank that we can siphon from here. And I guarantee you, that it's going to contain experiment locations. And we can liberate a great deal of individuals. And we can recruit them to our cause." He muttered to himself, tapping a few keys before the screen turned to a galaxy view of Andromeda, where several dots scattered the galaxy. "Well. That's interesting."

"So we're here?" Jade asked, Zircon shaking his head.

"No, we're in the Milky Way. This is Andromeda. Apparently there's a reason it's been covered by black ink." He explained, "And it looks like we'll start our liberation there."

Jade gave a slight nod, "So what do we do until then?"

Zircon ripped open the console and pulled out the hard-drive with the information on it. "We train and prepare."

The warp pad lit up in the house, Jade and Zircon both stepping off.

The rest of the Crystal Gems were in the living room, Steven apparently having called a meeting. "So where have you two been?" Steven asked.

Zircon gave a smile and threw the hard-drive at him, Steven catching it and raising an eyebrow.

"What's this?"

"Our recruitment plan." Zircon said, flashing a toothy grin.

 **So it seems that Zircon has a plan to get additional forces for the Crystal Gems! What will Jade's power be? Will the Liberations suceed? Find out, in Steven Universe: Retaliation!**


End file.
